5 ways to increase your steps this holiday season!

Posted on November 29, 2017
by Brynna Gabrielson

The holiday season is upon us and with it comes the mad rush to decorate, bake, cook, spend time with friends and family, buy presents, and hopefully enjoy ourselves! Are you exhausted yet? We are. As the holidays take
over it can be a bit difficult to keep up those activities that better our everyday health. Things like eating well, getting to the gym, and taking time to relax can fall to the wayside.

We all know (or at least most of us know) that we should be walking at least 10,000 steps a day! A challenge even when you've not got to find that perfect gift for your mother-in-law or bake 400 Christmas cookies!

Do your shopping on the high street! We understand the temptation to forgo the holiday shopping experience of visiting your local high street or shopping centre. After all, there are no crowds on the internet, and with free shipping buying online does seem a great way to
save time! But think of all those steps you're missing out on? Trekking from one store to the next can really top up your step counter. Spend a day moseying around town centre and you might just surpass those 10,000 steps. And let's face
it, crowds or not, shopping during Christmas with all the decorations and deals can be a rather enjoyable time!

Go ice skating
Well technically ice skating involves more of a glide than a step, but it's still a great way to get moving and this time of year Christmas fairs and markets are setting up everywhere with their own rinks. Spend 30 minutes on the ice and
you could burn over 200 calories1. Check out this article for some of the best ice rinks in the UK.

Take in the lightsOne of the best parts of this time of year is the festive decorations - especially in the evening when they're illuminated with twinkling lights. This holiday season, why not take a night or two to simply to take a walk and drink in
the décor? From city centres, to National Trust properties, it's a great time of year to see the world around you sparkle.

Go on a Christmas Market crawl Christmas markets around the UK are plentiful - from small markets in town squares, to rambling ones that seem to take up entire city centres. While it's nice to hit one market, don't limit yourself - there are many to try!
And many of them are open on weekday evenings as well as weekends. So after work why not find a new market, or an old favourite, and pop over for some festive cheer and a cup of mulled wine or hot chocolate? Stroll around each of the stalls and
watch those steps increase.

Take part in a festive fun runIf you enjoy raising money for charity, wearing Santa costumes and going for a jog, then this one is right up your alley! This time of year there are all sorts of holiday themed runs happening across the country and it's a great
chance to have some Christmas fun while racking up those steps! The lengths of these runs vary - we've seen some that are just 1.5km long - so you don't have to be a marathon runner to take part! You can check out this list of Santa Dash Fun Runs to see if there's one happening near you. Keep in mind this list is not exhaustive and there are other runs happening around the country as well!